It’s Just A Hobby That I Picked Up In The Lobby

I’ve been thinking about my college days a lot lately. I remember the summer before my freshman year, saving up all my money from my job working at a Sears store to buy an Ensoniq EPS 16 off ebay. I think I paid something like $550 for it, from some guy in Canada. How great it felt the day that board came in the mail. It was either that or an ASR X, and I went with the 16 even though it had less capabilities, mainly because I wanted those keys to play with.

In college I spent a quarter of my day in school, another quarter basically teaching myself how to make beats, and the other half sleeping. No, but seriously, it was a great time. I was buying all sorts of records, going digging every few weeks, copping vinyl off Ebay, and spending hours at night learning how to find the key to place the bass line of a sample in. It wasn’t about anything except learning and discovery. I remember this phase where I was on some DJ Shadow shit, trying to go through 26 different records just so I could make a beat completely out of samples. That was a challenge, and I think it was the most fun I had making beats. Then I had my Hi-Tek wannabee phase, where I was trying to play his wannabee-Dilla bass lines. Then the “trying to be like Just Blaze” phase, and so on and so forth.

Then somewhere down the line I started feeling like it was time to get my music out there, and I hit the ground running (there was no Myspace yet), linked with some folks, built a studio, put out some independent records (like an actual CD, not a slimline mixtape). And then it became less about making art and expressing myself as it did about just getting “work” done. My discography started becoming real important to me. It was as equally about having a career as it was about just making music.

And after that it became about strictly shopping tracks, not even making them anymore. I figured, I have enough beats, let me get them to as many rappers as possible and hopefully some of them will sell. And some of them did. Some ended up in 2track heaven and on fifty gazillion mixtapes and mix radio shows.

And then it just got ridiculous, waiting around for checks to come. Invoices go in, checks never go out. Artists get dropped from labels. Artists want you to hold beats for them, wait for their budgets to open back up. Then they want you to do some stuff for free, get your money on the back end, ride with their movement, blah blah blah.

What I’m describing is my own disillusionment with this whole beatmaking game, and how my interest in the creative process was somehow lost along the way. But the more I detach myself from the business side, the more my interest starts creeping back. And with that detachment comes a certain freedom, that ability to not have to rely on the industry for your income allows you to be as creative as you want to be. And then I turn the MPC back on….

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Silva

I feel you on the disillusionment and all that. When you’re owed more money than you actually have, dudes picking wackkkk beats over yours, “this is just for promo” then they’re selling it in stores, etc. But then when you get some hot shit going on the machine you remember what you came for

http://www.tommyvalentine.com Tommy Valentine

I couldn’t agree more. I left the very competitive Athens, Ga music scene after six-seven years of participation.

I started out freestyling, really for the love and passion of the artform. From their I moved into albums (made three), shows (did hundreds). Then I started managing artists, doing concert promotions, and graphic design to keep the bills paid.

I became addicted.

Eventually, once I realized how fake everyone gets, and how I couldn’t tell my friends from my clients, I left. It has been more than a year.

The strange part is though, as you said, the farther you get away from the business, the more the artform beckons you back.

Wab

Good read man.

We all get feeling down, but at the end of the day you found where the love still is, in making beats.

TheCo!!inB

ha, I remember college is when I first downloaded the infamous yet extremely underrated Fruity Loops (version 3.5.6 at that) just to start making beats cause I was too broke for equipment. I remember using presets for a long time til someone put me on to sound fonts and a program that would turn mp3′s to wav files which allowed me to start chopping and grabbing loops and stealing drums. I, like you, spent an unhealthy portion of my college career learning how to just be decent enough with beats to where I didn’t mind people hearing my shit (and i’ll be the first to say i’ve made a lot of wack shit in my day)…after a while I got better, senior year got a good look from the Star Trak camp on some tutelage shit, and after that i’ve faired ok. as crazy as it sounds most of my placements have been pro bono (ay-fuckin-o!) but it’s been music i’ve enjoyed creating and not making whatever the production trend is just to get a placement. got a good job that pays bills or I mighta been out there flooding a & r’s inboxes with music they didn’t ask for…..and i’m still getting it in using FL 3.5.6.

dj ashy fingerz

SMH at niccas with college degrees collecting dust while they running around trying to be the next Just Blaze.

gooch

yes in this crazy music/media industry, depending on what you do, your college degree will sit around and collect dust. I knew that beforehand. It was a personal goal to get it, not a career one

http://www.myspace.com/ndotcwww.iamhiphop.com/ndotc N DOT C

You’re the most consistent blogger PERIOD! I’m a fan, and I’m not afraid to admit it. Hip Hop 4EVER